What’s all the buzz about Food Freedom Day?

The scoop on Food Freedom Day in Canada

Have you heard someone mention something about Food Freedom Day and not really understood what all the excitement was about? Well, let me tell you – it is the day in each calendar year whereby the average Canadian will have earned enough money to pay their grocery bill for the entire year -- this year this noteworthy day is Thursday, February 14th, 2013.

What this means is that only 45 days into the New Year the majority of Canadians have earned enough money to buy their food for a year. The commemorative day gives Canadians an opportunity to be thankful for the food that we do have and to also assess the role that each one of us plays in our food system.

This year, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the organization who coined the term, Food Freedom Day, is encouraging people to think of ways to reduce food waste in our homes. In 2009, food waste in this country amounted to $27 billion which translates to an average of $774.07 in food dollars wasted by every person.

Whether you are a primary producer or a consumer there are ways for you to join the Food Freedom Day discussion. Share why reducing food waste is important to you as primary producer, an individual, a family, organization or business by using the hash tag on Twitter: #ffd2013.